Big Dam Photo: Highway to Helena

On watching hundreds of snow geese take flight

By Wyndham Wyeth | Photography by Jake Halbert

JAKE WASN’T FAR from his hometown of Lexa when he pulled off the highway to get a better look. He’d seen them arrive in droves from late January to mid-February, year after year, and this time it seemed as if he’d stumbled upon the snow geese just as they were settling in for the season. “As I pulled my car to the side of the road, hundreds immediately took flight, suspecting danger,” the Fayetteville-based photographer says. “It felt as if I’d conjured up a beautiful storm and was witnessing it from the very center.” The life meant to grow in those fields might’ve gone dormant, but now it had been replaced by new and vibrant life. That too would pass, he knew. Soon, even the birds would be gone. They’d leave just as fast as they’d arrived, as they’d done many times before.

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Arkansas Life magazine digs deep into The Natural State each month, unearthing surprising stories and exposing readers to new facets of a familiar place. To put it simply, we’re naturally curious—and we’re proud, like you, to call this place home.